Microsoft has participated in multiple police investigations and participated in taking down some the largest cyber crime rings in the world. Microsoft has announced that it, the FBI, and authorities in over 80 different countries recently launched a major assault on another big cyber crime ring. Reuters reports that this cyber crime ring is believed to have stolen over $500 million from bank accounts over the past 18 months.

Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit successfully took down at least 1,000 of the estimated 1,400 malicious computer networks in the Citadel Botnet. This particular botnet is believed to have infected as many as 5 million computers around the world. The network also stole from dozens of financial institutions including American Express, PayPal, and many others.

While Microsoft and other authorities have been successful in taking down many of the computer networks used by the criminal ring, the criminals themselves remain at large and the identities of the ringleaders of the organization remain unknown.

"The bad guys will feel the punch in the gut," said Richard Domingues Boscovich, assistant general counsel with Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit.

The FBI is working with international authorities to identify and capture the criminals behind the network.

"We are upping the game in our level of commitment in going after botnet creators and distributors," FBI Assistant Executive Director Richard McFeely said in an interview.